The red hair gene is one of the rarest in the world, but for some time now, it’s been on the cards that it could be be a thing of the past.
Why are they disappearing?
While there is no detailed data on exactly how many red heads there are in the world, it is thought that only 1-2% of the world population have red hair. Because the gene is recessive and both parents have to have it in order for it to be passed on, the sight of a ginger is becoming more and more rare.
What are people doing about this?
Several groups are now trying to change this however. Co-ParentMatch, a website which matches women to suitable sperm donors recently called out for ginger sperm donors after they discovered only 2% of their donors were ginger, which was not enough to match the high demand from the women using their website who wanted a ginger sperm donor. The organisation behind this year’s Ginger Pride rally in Melbourne, The Ginger Net has also thrown their support behind the cause, pledging a carton of their Buderim Ginger beer for redheads who donate their sperm to a fertility clinic.
The group recently conducted a survey through Facebook which found out of those who participated in the survey:
[infogram id=”sperm-16705043821″ prefix=”z8Q” format=”interactive” title=”Sperm”]
Is Soft drink enough?
Louis is a young ginger man, and he is exactly the demographic the fertility campaign is targeting.
Does he think that this is going to have an impact? Is soft drink the right incentive to get people to give up their sperm?
According to Nicole Robertson, from Buderim Ginger, the free ginger beer donors receive from the company is not only a way for making the prospect of donating sperm more attractive, but about raising awareness of the issue as well.
“We are not only creating awareness around the fact the ginger population is declining, but that red head’s should be proud of who they are” – Nicole Robertson
While the declining number of ginger’s has created a lot of discussion all over the world, but as a red head himself, does the prospect of the ginger race dying out worry him?
The program was launched a week ago, however Robertson said they are yet to have any donors claim their free ginger beer.
